July 29, 2010

We could chronicle the impressive shows they’ve hosted earlier in
the year, but we need only mention their current blockbuster: Picasso Looks at Degas. Add this to their
permanent collection, the concerts, lectures, film screenings, and family
programs, and the Clark is unbeatable.

BestMuseum (Cultural History)

New YorkStateMuseum

EmpireStatePlaza,
Albany

This museum is justly celebrated for its superb children’s programming,
but the NYSM has always, through timely exhibits and engaging lectures, been
tuned into the cultural history of New
York. Recent programming, including shows about the
suffragette movement and the Soap Box Derby, has enriched this rewarding mission.

BestCollegeMuseum

FrancesYoungTangTeachingMuseum
& Gallery

SkidmoreCollege, Saratoga
Springs

Things are tough all over, but the Tang has continued to offer dazzling
shows like the recent Fred Tomaselli retrospective, while offering lectures,
family programs and concerts that serve to connect with the larger community
outside the campus walls.

StuyvesantPlaza is truly a
one-stop-shopping destination. This shopping center offers a broad retail mix
from wine and books to toys and clothing, and a U.S. Post Office to boot.
Everything from grab-and-go bagels to gourmet dining is offered at Stuyvesant’s
restaurants. And on a sunny day the walk, from one end of the horseshoe to the
other, is very pleasant.

The standards of food and service have remained
consistently excellent during the restaurant’s quarter-century of operation,
but added to that is a sense of joy that informs the experience. Owner Jim Rua hosts
special events in an upstairs presentation kitchen; his son, Franco, helms the
main kitchen and adds to it a recently developed skill at charcuterie.
The spirit of Tuscany lives on.

Best New Restaurant

Grappa ’72 Ristorante

818 Central Ave., Albany

Armand and Tia Lule have subtly transformed the
old Carmine’s Restaurant in both ambiance and menu, combining the best
qualities of traditional Italian and modern elegance. Fresh ingredients like
house-cured salmon and crisp greens sparkle, and the wine list begs you to
forego the usual California cab for an adventure in zestful Italians.

Still the most straightforward, best edited and most informative
local daily; they may be suffering under the same economic constraints as the
rest of the business, but at least they don’t seem to be undergoing an ongoing
identity crisis. Their coverage of the Raucci case and the scandals in the Schenectady police
department was exemplary. And they have the best comics page in town.

Mayor Stratton deserves applause for his dogged efforts to get
rid of the bad cops that have long given the Schenectady Police Department a
less-than-stellar reputation. This year, his administration has made real
headway—and Stratton has promised there is more to come. It should also be
noted that Stratton has taken a balanced approach to managing the finances of a
distressed city in distressing times, and he should be commended for this.

Best Public Official (Tie)

Micheal Breslin

Albany County Executive

The sitting executive for Albany County has a list of enemies as
long as any labor-union roster, and we dig him for it. (His chief opponent
being Mike Conners speaks volumes, we say.) He has fought hard against a
legislative body more concerned with embarrassing him then working with him to
right our fiscal ship of state. And his bold stand on the nursing-home
debacle—in the face of a hyperbolic and well-orchestrated opposition—is a
testament to his fact-based, no-nonsense and, yes, compassionate leadership.
Plus, it doesn’t hurt that he is right on the issue. Fight on, Mr. Breslin. We
got your back.

Best Friend of Barbecue and Enemy of Children

Harry Tutunjian

TroyMayor

Credit talk-show host Paul Vandenburgh for asking the right
question: Who is it in Troy that can provide tax giveaways to an out-of-town
barbecue chain and make sure Troy Pig Out happens, but can’t get the swimming
pools open in time for the city’s children to enjoy them? We’ll answer that
one: Mayor Harry Tutunjian. Seriously, the dude has pork on the brain. When the
lame-duck mayor’s term ends, we suggest someone have a bottle of Dinosaur
Bar-B-Que sauce bronzed in lieu of a gold watch.

July 23, 2010

Last-minute notice that tonight (July 23rd) through Sunday (July 25th) is HEAVY, a huge art, music and performance event at St. Joseph's Church (38 Ten Broeck St., Albany). If you've never been in the space, it's absolutely vast, cavernous, incredible, and it looks like there's going to be an equally vast array of art. Hosted by the Marketplace Gallery and the Historic Albany Foundation, the event will help to restore the 1860 church in which it's housed.

July 15, 2010

The Rensselaer County district attorney’s office will drop its indictment Friday “without prejudice” against the two men they accused of committing a brutal double homicide in Troy in 2002, according to lawyers for the two men. This means that the two cannot be indicted for the same crime in the future.

Rensselaer County District Attorney Richard McNally said that the charges will be dropped due to issues with the grand jury proceedings as well as new evidence that has come to light.

Trey Smith, lawyer for Terrence Battiste, one of the two men, said that his client is relieved. “This has been an ordeal. He’s maintained his innocence all along and repeatedly cooperated with the authorities whenever they asked.”

While this new development marks the end for Battiste and his co-defendant, Bryan Berry, the DA’s office is now tasked with charging a new suspect, Michael Mosely, whose DNA was found at the scene in 2002 but remained unidentified until March of this year.

Smith said that the prosecution of Mosely will now be harder because the DA’s office pursued Battiste and Berry for so long.

“I think you can say without a doubt it is going to make Mr. McNally’s job more difficult,” said Smith.

Battiste and Berry were indicted for the homicides in 2007 while they were serving time for federal robbery charges but the two men maintained their innocence from day one. According to Fred Rench, attorney for Berry, federal authorities threatened to pursue the death penalty against the two men and offered them deals in exchange for their testimony in regards to the murders. However, the two men still refused to admit any guilt.

The prosecution’s main witnesses were questionable and had a history of volunteering information in police investigations in exchange for time off their sentences.

“This case was very tenuous against Battiste and Berry from the beginning,” said Rench.

Smith said that this case should never have been brought against Battiste and Berry because for the majority of the investigation there was an unknown suspect, who later turned out to be Michael Mosely. “In my opinion, to indict that case was prosecutorial malpractice,” said Smith.

July 12, 2010

Sooze just sent word that B3nson rabblerousers Barons in the Attic have put the finishing touches on their sophomore album 545. Generous gents that they are, they're giving the thing away as a download from their Web site. If you like what you hear, check em out this Saturday at Valentines, where they'll be celebrating the third birthday of independent radio heroes WEXT as well as the release of Sea of Trees' new self-titled disc.

Here's a cool clip of Sea of Trees stamping out copies of their hand-made album art: